The Royal Park is the only bushland park in the City of Melbourne — just two kilometres from the GPO. The Royal Park is public land. It belongs to all Victorians. We hold it in trust for future generations.
As early as 1862, Town Clerk Mr E G Fitzgibbon protested the further alienation of the park.
“Hands off the parks” was his battle cry. It needs to be our battle cry.
What can I do
Dear Members and Friends,
At the 2024 AGM we resolved to deregister the group in June 2025 which allowed for the new Master Plan to be completed…..however, the Master Plan was withdrawn after much feedback and was intended to be issued June 2026, so we delayed our deregistration till then……but is still pending – now likely August 2026!
We have decided that we will still deregister as of 30 June 2026 (or shortly thereafter).
As a reminder to everyone, the RPPG was formed in 1996 as the proposals for development in the Park were of such significance that a group of concerned locals got together with the object of focussing entirely on the Park and its future.
The initial Convenor of the Group was Angela Munroe and then later Julianne Bell, both wonderful representatives and speakers on behalf of the Park. They spearheaded the protests against the loss of parkland which was due to:
Much time and money was spent on fighting many of these issues through VCAT and similar review panels, often with legal advice and/or assistance.
Many other issues arose including input to the Master Plans; keeping a close eye on the expansion of ovals for formal sports; vegetation planning; objections to use for polo(!); hot air balloon landings on grass circle; and many more.
The Group also was a major player in organising weeding and planting bees in the Park to implement the vision of the original Master Plan.
With our Group “closing” we encourage you to join one or more of the following Groups to continue your association with the Park.
Thanks for all your support through the years.
All the best!